Frost
by Burdened-With-Glorious-Love
Summary: Loki is captured, his sentence decided. What will the vacant wasteland of Jotuneheim have in store for this banished prince? And what will become of Thor in the house of Odin now that there is no foreseeable enemy?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Asgard

Fidgeting with his cuffs Loki thought to himself_, I have tried repeatedly. Nothing pleased them, so I took matters into my own hands and look, what that has done. I will be lucky if they let me live_. He eyed the guard, trying to think of something clever to distract him, throw him off guard. All he needed was one second, just one, and he would be free. The guard glared at him, as if reading his mind. He smiled at the guard but he could not see past the muzzle, and he did not look away. Loki raised his brow, trying to provoke him. The guard rolled his eyes and went back to staring at the wall.

"I'm not stupid enough to get into that cell with you, not without your father's presence at least." Loki found his smile very unsettling. There was a loud clank as a door was forced open then sealed again. Loki sat up dreading the owner of the loud footsteps. The Guard in front of his cell kneeled and put a fist to his chest. _Daddy dearest... _Loki thought. _What other secrets have you kept from me?_

When Odin walked into a room you knew it, you could feel the power he radiated, or as Loki put it, his arrogance. It draped over him like a web. He was a trapped little fly with no chance of escape. Loki did not attempt politeness as Odin entered his cell. He just glared at him. _Sentence me to death already; Kill the monster you have created. _

Odin nodded his head at one of the guards. The guard walked over with a key and with a whirring sound, he removed the muzzle. Odin then began to speak while Loki stretched his jaw.

"Loki my son, for your intolerable acts of arrogance and treason-"

"Arrogance? _Arrogance?_" Loki interrupted. "You find me arrogant? The big man who fails to give up the throne calls me arrogant." Odin glared at him. Then nodded again to the guards who replaced the muzzle to Loki's mouth, he chuckled behind the cold metal. Odin looked furious he was done with formalities.

"I've tried to be understanding for your mother's sake, but kindness is lost on you!" He bellowed. "_You're an_ _arrogant, greedy -!_" Loki bolted up. "SIT!" He shoved the staff into Loki's chest, shooting a current through him as he did so. Loki shrieked behind the muzzle and collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain. Odin took a long breath before he started again.

"My son, it pains me to do this to you. However, for your treason, cruelty, and the murder of thousands of innocents, I take your power." The pain in Loki's chest magnified, and then numbness spread throughout the rest of his body. He had not felt this frozen since he had last held the casket of ancient winters. The warmth had drained from his fingertips; his hands were blue and shaking both in fear as well as from the cold. Tears burned his eyes, which were now a frightening scarlet. Looking up at Odin, he felt like a child; helpless, fragile.

Odin sighed again, now with tears in his eyes. "Loki, you have betrayed your family, your kingdom, and you have lost your chance of freedom. I hear by banish you to the icy realm of Jotunheim, into the wasteland you've created." The guard removed the muzzle once more.

"I don't deserve your mercy." He replied out of breath. "Why don't you just kill me?"

"As you said, you don't deserve my mercy." Odin said. He raised his staff and opened a vortex that lead out the back wall of the cell. As the wind whipped against their faces, Loki gave his final words.

"I only wanted what was promised to me." He whispered, hardly loud enough to hear over the vortex. The gravity of the hole sucked him in leaving Odin and the Guard behind in the prison.

"I must go." Odin said. "The public needs to be informed of his exile, Asgard as well as Midgard." The guard knelt once more as his king left, but Odin ignored the gesture. _If only he could learn. _

Jotunheim

Loki struggled to breathe as he fell through the portal. He hit the ground with a solid thud that knocked out what little breath he had in him. Looking up at the gray sky, it sunk in. He was on his own and all the creatures left on this planet wanted him dead. _You are where you belong now. The world you were born into and the world you tried to destroy. _He made a feeble attempt to stand and gather his surroundings; he could barely make it to his knees. Odin had landed him right in front of the castle ruins. The throne was crumpled and crooked. It appeared as if a soldier lay crushed beneath it. Loki gathered his strength to examine him. The man was easily twice his size, the average for an frost giant. Loki was an outcast wherever he went; a monster in Asgard, a demon on Earth and, too small for Jotunheim.

To make matters worse, it began to snow. The flakes that would usually give him goose bumps just sat on his skin refusing to melt. This only reminded him of who he was, a monster. _My body is now cold as my heart. _ He laughed bitterly at the thought. He could imagine people making the same joke back in Asgard, overjoyed that the demon is back in hell where it belongs.

Suddenly he felt a sharp thump on his head. A chunk of ice split in two lay at his feet, each piece nearly the size of his hand. Another chunk fell and hit his foot, hard. He swore, looking around to see the hail stones rain down from black clouds above. He needed to find some shelter, one that held fewer memories, less guilt and a sturdy roof.

Loki sat hutched over in the corner of a small cavern. He could still see the ruins from the cave, the soreness of his body preventing his journey further. Hunger was twisting his stomach, and he realized he had never been truly hungry. Someone had always been there to serve him, even on earth he gained minions to care for him. Oh how he missed those mindless servants, going about doing his bidding as he plotted the creation of his new kingdom.

All that was gone now, the luxury, the power, even the company. He was alone, desolate. He wondered if Heimdall could see him now, starving and miserable. He wondered if this made him happy, watching him die. There were only two people who would not be; Thor of course, the true heir to the throne who redeemed himself after being exiled to earth as a mortal. _He murders and provokes war and the world forgave him, I do the equivalent and now every dim-witted creature in this ignorant universe wants me dead. _Then there was his mother, a sweet woman who did nothing but love him for who he was. She did not care that he was a monster, _"You are our son Loki, and we your family." _The guilt of the memory lay on his mind as thick and intense as the snow and ice outside the cave. This was his real sentence; realizing your loved ones suffer while you waste away in agony with no chance of escape.

Asgard

Odin had given his speech to the pubic concerning the exile of their rouge prince, the people rejoiced in the privacy of their homes, for the house of Odin was holding no ceremony. Soldiers were lining up to travel and spread the news to earth.

Thor was less grateful "He will be dead in a day. He can't take on Jotunheim alone." Cast out once himself, he could not imagine doing it alone in a world he had left to rot.

"He is too dangerous to be kept here in our prison, with or without magic from our world he is still a threat."Odin explained to his son.

"He had no power you could have let him stay!" Thor replied angrily. "And what about the people of earth, he owes them more than anyone."

Odin was weary and tired of explaining his reasoning. "He was born an frost giant! I cannot change his genetics. He possesses abilities of the frost giants that could be a danger to everyone. We must not give him the opportunity to have power over anyone." He looked faint. Creating portals without the bifrost was beginning to take its toll on the king.

"Father." Thor seized his elbow to keep him on his feet.

"I need rest." Odin's voice was fatigued, all color drained from his face. He rushed the king to his chambers to find Frigga, his mother weeping on the golden bed.

"He's in need of rest." Thor explained. Frigga stood and did her best to help Odin onto the bed. She stroked his cheek, tears leaving streaks on her face.

"It takes great strength to do what he did." She said. "He tells the people he chooses exile for their safety, but it's really for Loki's."

"What do you mean?"

"Loki has put your father in the difficult decision of choosing between the kingdom and his son. No matter how hard Loki tries to detach himself from the family he always will be my son and your brother. Your father hopes that one day he will come to his senses and we can bring him home." The tears came now like a flood. "If he would have kept Loki here he would surely have been killed. He has made too many enemies."

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jotunheim

Reluctantly, Loki ventured back towards the ruins the next morning. He rubbed the black bruises that splotched his limbs and chest. His stomach growled noisily. He made a makeshift bucket made out of some scrap armor he found just outside the caverns. He was able to melt the snow with what heat his body could emit, which apparently was not much. The slush sated him for the night, but now the food was starting to take its toll.

The ruins felt darker than in his memories. He needed to find food and fast. What would he find? Any creatures that would have survived must be monstrous in size. Plants were rare in this environment and nearly impossible to find, unless you knew where to look, which he did not. He would have to search the abandoned castle for scraps or if he got desperate, the crushed soldier he came across earlier. He shivered, hoping he would not have to resort to such savagery.

There was a rumble and the ground shook beneath him. He spun around to see one of the enormous icicle-like columns crumble to the ground in the distance. Over the grumble of the collapsing ruins, there was a small scream like a child. Squinting to see farther in the perpetual darkness that was Jotunheim, he could make out a figure running from the dust cloud created by the column. Loki panicked, _A person, _he bolted towards the figure. He could not fathom how he could be so lucky. Since he'd landed he had been trying stay alive, rather than finding an escape which was the original plan._ Even if they are the last one they have survived this long haven't they?_ He would not lose this opportunity.

In the jumble of dust and debris, a pillar as wide as a tree trunk came tumbling towards the figure. With a thud, he rammed in to the stranger, pushing them out of its path. There was a crunch and a stomach churning snap. The stranger grabbed Loki's hand but was not quick enough to pull him from the wreckage. Splinters of pain shot through his foot and into his calf, his leg buried in rubble.

"." cried a meek little voice. "Hold still. Don't move." Was he hallucinating or was a child really trying to unearth his leg. That's when he noticed a wet sensation streaming down his forehead. He wiped away the liquid and examined the midnight blue substance on his palm. Only then did he realize, as black dots clouded his vision, that it was his own blood.

Every breath shot daggers of pain deeper into Loki's chest. As he began to wake, the falling sensation forced his aching hands to grip at the stiff bed beneath him. Ever so slowly, he forced his eyes open. The chamber was black, save a small blue flame glowing softly in a cracked, sooty lantern. In the dim lights, the exiled prince could make out one of his feet poking out of the thin blankets. Its disfigured shape inclined him to move it and have a closer look. Shards of tear inducing pain burst from his ankle and snaked up his shin and down his toes. He let out a sharp cry, alerting a sleeping figure who had dosed off against the wall.

"Are you okay?" the figure said, the child-like voice ill fitting to the tall body.

"What is this place?" Loki inquired sharply, ignoring the child's concern.

"The infirmary, you're safe now." The meek voice replied. "You should probably lay do-"

"Come closer." The prince commanded, eyeing the familiar silhouette. The figure stepped closer to the weak flame timidly, avoiding the Loki's piercing gaze. The deep blue of his skin etched with markings that wove across his face and bare chest. His blue fingers fumbled with his jet-black hair, twirling the strands between them while ruby eyes averted their gaze, staring down at his toes.

"I've been told to alert the physician when you awaken." He mumbled, his eyes fixated to the floor. Loki took in the child's appearance; vulnerable, yet deadly. At least to anyone not of Jotun blood. He lay back on the pillow creating a steeple with his hands on his sore abdomen.

"Did you bring me here?" He asked, barely above a whisper. The boy nodded, looking up to see the invalid staring at the sheets before him.

"I heard them talking." The boy said. "The nurses, they said you were..." he paused.

"That I was what?" Loki demanded immediately. They had every reason to kill him, so why didn't they?

"An angel, come back to save us." This was not what Loki had expected.

"Is it true? Are you the prince?" Loki's muscles tensed. They really thought of him as a savior, after what he did to their king. That's when it dawned on him. They had no clue. Ever since he killed Laufey and Thor destroyed the bifrost, they were desolate, isolated, detached from the other realms. He had given them the magical ability to cloak themselves. That is why everyone thought them to be extinct.

The gears in his head began turning, fabricating his course of action. If he cannot destroy the Jotuns, he could restore their glory, given they would do the same in return.


End file.
